America's Wings

Discusses aerodynamics and airplane wing design. Presents commentaries from key research personnel whose contributions were historically significant in the development of the modern airplane wing - Igor Sikorsky, who invented the helicopter; James Osborne, whose small suggestion helped make jet transports flyable; Eastman Jacobs, whose wind tunnel work in the 1930's established the shape of airfoils; Adolph Busemann, who thought of the swept wing; Kelly Johnson, who designed 40 airplanes; and Richard Whitcomb, who conceived the idea for the supercritical wing, the "coke-bottle" fuselage, and the winglet. (28 min)